“It’s an honor to be participating in [Best of Raw] and to be participating in the vision of bringing the live foods vegan movement to the world. Live food is the most optimal diet for helping us to become superconductors of the divine.” ~ Rabbi Gabriel Cousens, MD, Tree of Life

Best of Raw celebrates everyone's initiatives towards a healthier diet and eco-footprint. In other words, whether you are simply adding more raw to the diet, reaching for a healthier way of life, or are all raw vegan, we encourage you to have fun nominating your favorites and voting in the contest.

Raw Living Expo Hosts 5th Annual Best of Raw Awards

~ The Location Is Magical & Has Been Called ‘The Most Beautiful Place In America’ ~

Founder of Best of Raw Laura Chiraya Fox announces the birth of the Raw Living Expo, which has been created to fill an underserved niche, the raw foods movement and the raw foods packaged goods industry, with a dedicated 3-day event showcasing, honoring and celebrating the key people, places, products, media and eco-initiatives in this “fastest growing” foods industry.

Called affectionately “The Sustainable Feast,” the raw foods lifestyle not only assists people in increasing health and raising their conscious awareness, but also has a direct impact on the ecology of the planet. “By encouraging humanity to add more raw organic plant foods to the diet, we are doing our part in decreasing our eco-footprint as well as increasing the health of people around the world,” says Fox.

To add to the raw fun, Hilton Sedona Resort & Spa Chef Salvatore will be trained to prepare delicious gourmet raw foods by celebrity raw chefs Elaina Love, Chef BeLive and Nomi Shannon, so that he can prepare a sumptuous raw vegan dinner that will be celebrated by raw foodists attending the black-tie optional Best of Raw Awards Gala Dinner, which takes place on the opening evening of the Expo. Best of Raw unveils “peer-to-peer” industry awards which will be announced at the Gala Dinner, to particularly honor the achievements and initiatives of raw foods industry leaders. The next day, Saturday, February 23rd, the 5th Annual Best of Raw Online Awards will be announced throughout the day, with the highest profile awards being announced Saturday evening.

The weekend celebrations include live music from Earth and The Next Society, The Golden West, Cipes & The People, Singing Bear and many more live performing musicians, as well as two DJ Dance Parties Friday and Saturday nights.

Speakers, Workshops, Chef Demos, Panels, Discussion Groups, Networking Activities, Exhibitors, Raw Foods Sampling, and a Raw Living Cafe presented by the Chocolatree Eatery make this a very full, inspirational and educational weekend designed to assist people from all walks of life in adding more raw, organic plant foods to their diets in delicious and delightful ways.

New This Year at Best of Raw

New this year:

ENTER & NOMINATE Our VOTING PLATFORM is completely revamped and highly professional, offering an exceptional voter and contestant experience. People, Places, Products, Media & Eco-Initiatives in 55 Categories can ENTER THE CONTEST, or be NOMINATED by their fans. Once nominated, all contestants must ENTER. Contestants will be able to see company images, videos and listen to any audios contestants care to upload, and vote with a click under the company logo. They can also immediately post to facebook any comments they care to make about their vote, and easily share their choices with their friends.

PEER TO PEER AWARDS We are announcing the first year of the Founder's Awards and the Advisory Board Peer Review Awards to satisfy the needs of our growing industry. These awards will include the Founder's Award for Innovation; The Lifetime Achievement Award; The Eco-Friendly Company Innovation Award; The Soil Quality Improvement Award; The Organic Produce & Farming Award; and The Children's Education Award.

AWARDS GALA DINNER & GREEN CARPET WALK-IN The Annual Awards Gala will take place at the Raw Living Expo, Sedona, Arizona Februar 22-24, 2013 at the Hilton Sedona Resort and Spa. TICKETS are on sale now. This 2.5 day event features music, entertainment speakers, workshops, the best of raw awards announcements, a “green carpet” celebrity gala walk in and dinner live streamed to the world, product give-aways, food sampling, live chef demos, and more. Tickets will go on sale soon at the website BestOfRawFoods.com.

DIRECTORY We are integrating a Plant Based Raw Foods Resource Directory this year as well. All Sponsors and advertisers will automatically receive a directory listing, and the community of raw foods products and services are welcome to register as well.

NEW VIDEOCAST: Raw Living Interviews with Laura Fox and Nate Crane

We're totally stoked to announce our new show Raw Living Interviews! We'll be speaking with a dozen of our presenters and performers in advance of the Expo to revv up the high vibes and bring in the downloads!

Join us Tuesday or on the archives to hear all the magnificent details of the 5th Annual Best of Raw Awards and the brand new Raw Living Expo! Laura has so much to share about this that we've dedicated an hour to get you all the updates and downloads!